Lyrical Girls
by Kode Dekka
Summary: An alternate, ordinary re-imagining of the first season. Nanoha and her friends are simple high school girls, living happy lives. But soon, with the entrance of a certain blond, everything changes as they learn of her cruel home life. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Finally, the start of a new story (when was the last time I took a break?). Anyway, I hope that this serves as an entertaining pilot to my re imagining. Ordinary girls, doing ordinary things, living ordinary lives, sounds ordinary. Anyway, while I think there is an over saturation of stories like this, it couldn't hurt for me to finally put one out. That said, this is a three story trilogy in the making, so don't expect the couples to get together right away, and don't expect some to stay together...I've planned many a twists and turns, but let us begin, shall we?_

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

* * *

A beautiful girl, with golden hair, and lonely eyes,

that was my first thought when I saw _her._

Looking at her burgundy eyes, welled up a familiar feeling in me,

and I remembered a time when that I wished I could forget.

And then, all of a sudden,

I wanted to reach out my hand to her,

and tell her that it would be okay,

because I was here.

Because I knew loneliness,

I would always be by your side.

That's why, please,

stop looking back at me with such painful eyes... okay?

* * *

**Lyrical Girls**

**Kode-Dekka**

**I**

**

* * *

**

Why must I wake up with a headache, on today of all days?

Today was an important day, my first day of high school. I was about to enter a whole new world, along with my two best friends. So why, _why_, must my head be pounding so hard?

As if to exacerbate the pain I was feeling, my phone started ringing, playing a tune that I now found quite annoying. It buzzed, attempting to be an alarm clock, even though it had failed since I was already awake. In anger I grabbed it, flipped it open, turned the damn ringing off, and then tossed it to the floor, listening to the sweet sound of it crashing.

"Nanoha, are you awake!" My mother called from downstairs, her voice only made the pounding worse, but I endured it.

"Yes!" I yelled down, regretting it. I felt like I was hung over, or at the very least, I'm sure its a lot like this.

Slowly, grumbling, I crawled out from under my blankets, and slid off my bed, just like a snake, or a worm.

I didn't feel very awake, but my body was sure acting like it was. "Stupid brain..." I mumbled under my breath, reaching my way up to my feet, and pulling myself toward the closet, where my new uniform was waiting.

I marveled at it when I opened the closet door. It was simple, modest, and not very colorful, but I adored it all the same. I pressed my face against it, taking in the fresh smell. "Ah~, so this is what being a high schooler feels like." I rubbed my face against the fabric, my headache disappearing bit by bit.

"Nanoha! Are you up!" Mother called again, not believing in my ability to get up on my own.

"I'll be down in a second!" She was quiet once again, and I turned my attention back to the uniform. Grinning gleefully at it, I reached down at my clothes, and started to tear them off; in silent anticipation of what was to come, I undressed myself as quickly as I could, unable to wipe the silly smile from my face.

* * *

"Mou, you're late, stupid!" Alisa greeted me the usual way. She was a blond-haired foreigner with a lot of attitude, but deep down was really nice, which is why I could look past her insult today.

"Good morning, Nanoha-chan." Suzuka, my best friend said to me, giving me her usual smile. Never in your life will you meet someone as sweet as her, bless her heart.

"Good morning, Suzuka-chan, Alisa-Chan." I replied with a chirp in my voice. "Sorry, I lost track of time, nyahahaha~." Alisa eyed me suspiciously.

"You were playing around with your uniform, weren't you?" At first I acted like I didn't know what she was talking about, but when she kept her gaze locked on me, I could do nothing but avert my eyes.

"Che..."

She sighed, and did a facepalm. "Honestly... Well whatever, we gotta hurry." Suzuka and I nodded, and the three of us ran at top speed. The wind zipped through my hair, and the breeze felt nice. I was so excited, my heart was beating a mile a minute. In just ten, maybe 5 minutes if we ran fast enough, the three of us would finally be high school girls.

* * *

The entrance ceremony was extremely boring, like majorly boring. In fact, the only reason I even started to pay attention, was because of the principal. She was weird looking; a tall, curvy woman who looked very young, but the weird part was her green hair. It was like she was from another planet, I couldn't help but pay attention, though I was mostly just staring at her hair as she talked, and not absorbing a word of what she said.

After it was over, I met with Suzuka and Alisa. The three of us would be in the same homeroom again, it was like fate was smiling down on me.

As we walked and talked, we bumped into Natsume, short, red-headed classmate from middle school.

"Nanoha-chaaaaaaan~!" On sight, she tackled me with a hug. I nearly fell over, but managed to keep steady. She was always an amusing girl, so her random affection made me laugh. Her eyes moved over to my two friends, one of which didn't look very pleased. "Oh look, you guys are here too."

"Whadda ya mean by that!" As expected from Alisa, she completely took it the wrong way and got angry. Natsume, grinned at her, squeezing me even more tightly.

"Nooooooothing~." Suzuka joined me with a giggle as we watched the two bicker. They were always like this. It was a good feeling, it felt like nothing had changed at all.

Natsume let go of me finally, waving her hand. "Sorry but I'm in another class, so I gotta go, see ya Nanoha-chan!" She ran away before Alisa could make any comments.

"That girl seriously gets on my nerves." She said, grinding her teeth.

"Now now," Suzuka said, touching her shoulder gently. "She's a good girl, you two should try being friends."

"That's right." I chimed in, feeling left out. Alisa just huffed and crossed her arms. Suzuka and I looked at each other, and then started giggling again, which made the blond's face flush with embarrassment.

"Ah damn it! Shut up will ya." We patted her on the back, giving a halfhearted apology.

Class hadn't even started yet, and already I was making good memories. As the three of us moved again on our way to class, I smiled widely, linking my arms with my friends. Alisa blushed again, saying that we were too old for this, Suzuka just quietly went along with it, humming happily.

My high school life, had finally begun.

* * *

During class, I zoned out. It was the first day, I wasn't going to learn anything, so I just scribbled down in my notebook. Glancing from side to side, I saw that Alisa was sleeping again, she never was an early riser. Suzuka was diligently listening to the teacher, taking in every single word, like a good girl. I envied her for a moment, wishing I had even a fraction of her motivation, but then I just went back to drawing crappy replicas of my friends.

When it was over, and the bell rang, Alisa finally woke up, and stretched her arms, and then quickly wiping the drool from her mouth. Suzuka and I crowded her at her desk, and we talked about various things, from the entrance ceremony, to the fact that Alisa was cute when she slept, though that topic didn't go down very well. I never tire of her exaggerated expressions, she was such a tsundere.

And soon, class continued...

* * *

At lunch, the three of us found a nice spot under some trees, and ate together. Natsume found us soon after, and then things got a little chaotic.

"Geez, you're always getting so close to Nanoha, don't you have any shame!" Alisa once again looked very pissed. Natsume was huddled up close to me, eating happily. I did have to admit, it was a little troubling having her so close, but I didn't really mind, it was nice to get so much attention from someone. Natsume, being Natsume, just gave her a sly grin.

"What's the matter Alisa, you jeaaaalous?*" She said, always stretching out her words when taunting the blond. Alisa's face turned bright red as expected.

"O-Of course not, moron! You're just irritating, acting all buddy-buddy with her."

"Fu fu fu, that sounds quite a bit like jealousy to me, A-l-i-s-a-c-h-a-n~." Alisa ground her teeth, finally at her breaking point.

"You...you...!" Shaking her fist, she got up and went at her, though Natsume dodged her easily. The two of them got to their feet, chasing each other around.

"Kyaaaa! Nanoha-chan, save me from this raging beast." The redhead squealed in mock terror, clearly enjoying the situation, and Alisa's growing anger.

I looked at them and shook my head, releasing a sigh. Suzuka just giggled cheerfully like always.

Finally, after ten minutes, the two of them exhausted themselves and sat down, though they glared daggers at each other.

"Ha...haa... truce...?" Natsume said, catching her breath.

"...F-Fine..." Alisa responded, doing the same. They didn't bother shaking hands, neither them had the strength anyway.

As Suzuka and I ate quietly, it looked like they were about to pass out. _Yeah, definitely the same, _I thought, concealing my thoughts with a smile. Somehow, I had a nice feeling. This year, was definitely going to be interesting, I, Nanoha Takamachi, just knew it.

* * *

_A/N: * What I really wanted to write down for that scene:_

_Alisa: Stop getting so close to her!_

_Natsume (Trollface): What's wrong Alisa, U jelly?_

_Alisa: Useless! Its all Useless!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: The wait is over. I've decided that unlike many stories, I'll take my time. With this chapter, I'm fairly certain that I've finally got the pacing right. Anyway, things get a little more hectic for Nanoha, much to Alisa's dismay. I'm going to pose a challenge to my readers also. I've got many pairings in mind for this series, especially when I eventually bring in the cast of A's and StrikerS. The challenge that I am posing, is to see if you can guess what the pairings will be by the time the three part series is over. Also to confirm right now as to not get your hopes up, as the Word of God, no one will get together until at least the second story. However, I shall be providing hints all over as to who feels what for whom. So guess away. Secondly, for the very first time, I shall be answering any questions left in reviews right here, so I'll start with whatever ones I have now. Unfortunately,_ _**Honulicious** is the only one who really asked anything, so I'll answer it now. Natsume, I got her name from Hidamari Sketch, more or less it just came to me, but this is not her. It is a completely different, original character for the purpose of this story. Besides that, thank you for all the kind reviews, I'm glad that this story so far is too your liking. Anyway, see you all next time, enjoy. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

* * *

A girl with golden hair, woke from a peaceful sleep. Her red eyes looked all around, blitzing across her room. There were boxes everywhere, sealed up with tape. The only thing noticeable about the room was the bed that she was laying on. Besides that and the boxes, there was nothing, just four empty walls.

She rose, sitting up on the bed. Looking out the window, she saw that it was night, and that she had been sleeping for a long time. She yawned, stretching out her arms. Without a word, she got off the bed, and walked over to the door, opening it, and leaving the dark room in favor of a brightly lit stretch of wood.

Silently, she walked along the short path, coming to a flight of stairs, and so she went down those as well. The girl found at the bottom of the stairs, and peering into another room, a woman sleeping soundly at a desk. Smiling, the girl strolled up to her, taking the jacket that the woman discarded to the floor, and placing over her. Listening to the sounds of the woman, the girl's smile deepened, and she turned around, beginning her journey back to the dark room.

"Goodnight, mother."

**

* * *

Lyrical Girls**

**II**

* * *

Somehow, in a way that was complete out of my control, I became a star overnight.

Since I started school, three days have passed; three days of adjusting, and nonstop bickering on Alisa and Natsume's part. In those three days, something amazing also happened. It was during gym, where we did various activities. The first was running, where I found out that I was a pretty fast person. On the track, I completely outran everyone else, even Alisa who told me to slow down so she could catch up.

Afterward, we played a game of soccer, just for fun. Whenever I had the ball, it was like no one could take it from me, I was invincible. I felt euphoric when I was in control, like I was discovering a talent I didn't know I had. Needless to say, I managed to impress a few people.

In those three days, I received offers to join just about every sports club in the school. I went from an unknown freshman, to one of the most desired athletes in the entire school. It felt great, I was happy, ecstatic, to have so many people coming to me, was nothing short of amazing.

The rest of the week unfortunately, was not as great. All of a sudden, girls all over the school were trying to befriend me, some even asked me out, though I declined them. The worst part was the jealous girls, who hated the fact that I was getting so much attention, especially those in the older grades.

In the first week since starting school, I had become a celebrity, an object of desire, and the enemy of a few petty girls.

To say the least, my friends weren't handling it very well either, particularly Alisa.

"This is so damn annoying!" She told me, banging her first against the ground as we ate lunch under a tree, the same one we've been under every day. I had just declined the offers of a few excited girls to eat lunch with them. They scurried away, gossiping and gushing to each other.

Alisa, who had little patience to begin with, just couldn't take it anymore. "Nanoha, you have to do something about this. If one more girl goes "kyaaa!" around you, I'm going to deck them." I laughed nervously, not knowing if I should take her seriously or not.

"Heh." Natsume smirked at her, pushing her red hair out of her face, and snuggling up close to me again. "Alisa, haven't I told you a thousand times? Jealousy is an ugly emotion, especially on you."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear that from you."

"Ah, so uncute. If you keep acting like such a grouch, you're never gonna get a boyfriend."

"I said shut up!" Again, the two of them lunged at each other. For a moment, I feared for my safety, I wasn't in the mood to get hit by one of their stray punches. Thankfully, Suzuka intervened, pushing the two of them apart.

"Now now, fighting isn't good." She looked at Natsume specifically for some reason, and the girl immediately backed off, her cheeks turning a little pink, causing Suzuka to smile sweetly. "That's better. Now, don't you have something you want to say, Natsume-chan." Natsume's cheeks darkened, even more so when she saw the wide smile on Alisa's face.

She did a little "hmph", and and closed her eyes, not looking at the blond. "I'm sorry, okay?" she said softly, sounding completely sincere. Alisa seemed a bit embarrassed by it.

"W-Well, since I'm in such a good mood, I'll forgive you this time." I wanted to laugh at her, but suppressed my voice, however it didn't stop my thoughts. _Definitely a tsundere. _

Eventually, after setting aside their differences, we all began to enjoy a peaceful lunch, until another club member came up to me, begging me to join. I told them I'd think about it and sent them away, sighing after they were gone.

"You really should just join a club and end this already." Alisa said, munching down on a sandwich. Suzuka nodded her head in agreement.

"Sorry Nanoha-chan, but it is getting a little... _troubling_ for us." Even Natsume took their side, but with a completely different reason.

"They keep interrupting my precious time with you, its annoying." So she said. I blushed, not meaning to, but she was always saying embarrassing things, so it couldn't be helped this time. Alisa gave her a sharp glare, and Natsume stuck her tongue out at her. However they settled down soon, waiting for my answer.

I scratched my head, thinking it over seriously. In the end, I closed my eyes, thinking about which club would best suit me if I had to choose one. The perfect one came to mind right away, it was a simple choice. The feeling of the air hitting against my face as I went all out at top speed, as if I was flying through the sky. That's right, it was the only choice that could be considered.

I smiled, opening my eyes and giving them the thumbs up, telling them that I made a decision.

And so, after school, I joined the track team.

* * *

Excited and disappointed faces looked at me as I entered the school grounds on the first day of the following week. Members of the track team who happened to pass by me and my friends, slapped me on the back, telling me to give it my all during practice after school. Some of the girls around me squealed as I passed, some avoided looking at me, all of them got on Alisa's nerves. If it wasn't for Natsume taking all her attention by annoying her, and Suzuka using her magic to keep them in check, then Alisa might have just gone on a rampage...

When morning class started, the teacher made a special announcement. "We have a new student joining us, so please welcome her warmly." He said. As excitement went through the class, he looked at the door, asking the girl in question to come in.

The door slid open, and the girl walked in. Right away, silence took over the room. She was dressed completely in black, even her hair -which was a golden color- had black ribbons in it. Everyone was captivated by her, myself included. I don't know how it was for everyone else, but for me, the thing that captivated me the most was her eyes, which were two orbs of dark red wine.

The girl stood in front of the class, which was still silent, and was asked to introduce herself. She bowed lightly, looking completely composed, her face like that of a doll.

"My name is Fate Testarossa, my hobby is reading. Its nice to meet you." A short speech, barely worth noting. I just heard her name, and disregarded everything else. Fate Testarossa, it was a strange name, and yet, it was kind of cool and mysterious.

The girl stared blankly at the class, not saying anything else. Everyone was still silent, so I expected something bad to happen. That wasn't the case, and soon everyone exploded into fits of excitement and conversion. Saying things like "she's so cute!", or, "kyaaa!". It was the usual thing to be expected when a new toy appears, a very shinny, beautiful new toy.

_Beautiful?_ I Caught myself thinking. I was a little confused as to where that word came from, but I couldn't deny it. Fate Testarossa had the very definition of attractive, especially her eyes, which continued to look at us in disinterest.

Out of nowhere, she scanned the room, and looked at me for a moment. My heart started to beat a little faster, and I had no idea why. I just looked away from her, instead focusing my attention on Alisa, who was looking more and more annoyed by the chatter all around her.

Finally, the teacher put an end to it, calming everyone down. Fate was assigned a seat a few rows in front of me, and sat down in the one empty desk in the classroom. The girls around her squealed again, asking her about various things, but the teacher shut them up and started the lesson.

Today, we were taking down a large note, and learning something very important about math. However, I wasn't paying attention. On the contrary, the entire time, I found myself looking at Fate's back. I remembered her eyes, and looking deep into that image which was burned in my memory, I found something I didn't like. Within her beautiful red eyes, I saw something that I used to see often in myself when I looked in the mirror, something I wished I could forget.

Loneliness.

So as I stared at her back, not paying attention to anything the teacher said, I remembered my own loneliness from my early years. All of a sudden, I got a strong feeling, a sudden urge if you will. I wanted to be friends with that girl, no matter what, and ease the painful feeling I saw in her eyes for that one moment.

And once again, while thinking about that, for no particular reason, my heart bounced around again, and started to beat just a little faster...

* * *

_Note: I really know nothing about Japanese schools, so forgive the bad parts, okay?_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: This chapter was actually finished yesterday, but I forgot to upload it. That was for the best anyway, as I got to make many revisions and edits. That said, I am going to announce the themes for these stories, so you can know what to expect. For this one, the theme is Trust and Friendship. For A's, it will be shifting relationships. For Strikers (which I will just call S), it will be resolution. Anyway, besides that, everyone has given me nice pairings to work with, though I wonder how many will be able to figure out the true pairings by the end of this story *giggle*. Moving on, I shall once again answer any questions. But first, a thank you to **Sammie-Chan89**, for helping me catch a mistake, I've made the revision to it. To **esc, **Yes, Alicia will pay a small role in the story, though her status will more or less be the same as in canon. **liz**, Yuuno is going to be absent from this story, mostly because I want the focus to be on Nanoha and Fate, and this is an all-girls school. No worries, he'll appear next story to shake things up a bit with Chrono. As for Natsume, she's just something I came up with in the spur of the moment to mess with Alisa._

_That seems to be everything I need to say, so I'll leave it at that. Happy reading. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

**

* * *

Lyrical Girls**

**III**

Fate Testarossa robbed me of all of my fame in a single instant. You wouldn't be able to tell at a glance, but she is a deceptively frightening person. She doesn't raise her hands in class, but is a genius. She is slow, always moving at a snails pace in the halls, but on the field and track, she is as fast as lightning. She revealed little of herself, and tried not to fit in with others, but no one could deny her overwhelming presence when she was around.

However, as I think about this in another boring class, waiting for her to recite a poem she wrote for an assignment, I realize that I still know very little about her at all.

On the day she transferred in, all the spotlight among the freshmen shifted from me to her right away. It couldn't be helped, she was very cute, at least most thought so, myself included. However, I never expected the surprise I got during gym the next day, I don't think anyone could have anticipated it.

I was running again, warming my legs up for later. Once again, I went all out, and no one could catch me, though they hardly even tried and indulged me in my speed. Just when I thought that no one could take away this wonderful feeling away from me, a flash of gold zipped past me. It said nothing, it breathed at a normal pace, and it blasted past me faster than my mind could process.

Fate Testarossa, without any effort at all, outran me, the person who was already being called the freshmen ace of the track team. I had hardly done anything to deserve that title yet, though even I know I already had the potential to do just that. And yet, in just a moment, she swept it all away from me.

Afterward, when everyone finally picked up their jaws, they squealed and complimented her. She ignored them, barely even making a sound, as if their existences were irrelevant to her. Later that day, the track team would also try to recruit her and replace me, but luckily for me, she turned them down, saying she wasn't interested in the least. Many would have found her actions and speech arrogant, even rude, but I saw differently.

No matter how everyone saw her, I still saw a lonely girl. Her eyes, icy as they were, still reflected pain, which it seemed only I could see. In those eyes, I saw a connection, a thread that could bind us together. Strange as it was for me to feel this way for someone I didn't know, I truly wanted to be her friend, her ally, her strength if need be.

That's why I paid complete attention to her right now as she began to recite a poem. If I wanted to befriend her, then I had to know more about her. Poems are a way of looking into someone's heart, so I wanted to listen, and see what I would hear coming from hers.

Fate looked at the class, and I noticed, a slight blush came on her cheeks, but it was hardly noticeable, unless you were like me, and saw every shifting detail. She held a paper in front of her, and began to speak:

"I cannot quench your thirst. Because even if you yearn for the truth, you refuse to believe in it. I cannot quench your thirst. Because no such truth exists that you are in anticipation for." As she said the second verse of the poem, her eyes took a subtle shade of sadness, and my heart jumped. She stopped for a moment as well, reading the paper again, her eyes becoming more and more sad.

"...But I still want to quench your thirst. Because I am the one the that put you into the desert..." Her voice became progressively quieter as she read the final verse, and finally, it stopped altogether, as she clamped her mouth shut.

I didn't really understand the poem, the difficulty was a little too high for me. However, I know that whatever those words meant, it was something meaningful to her. In fact, I could even tell, she was saying this poem not to us, but to someone in her heart, someone with whom she wanted to share these words. That only made my heart jump some more. I felt like I could hear hers crying out in unknown suffering. Of course, I knew that it might have just been my imagination, I did have an overly active one.

Regardless, Fate's eyes returned to normal as soon as she was done. The teacher gave her a nod to sit down, and she did, ignoring the stares and whispers around her. Some were saying that they didn't understand, others call her cool or mysterious, some thought it was depressing and said such.

Once again, I was reduced to looking at her back, since there was no reason for her to look my way. I went back into my thoughts, trying to analyze the poem, and possibly try to understand her feelings, and reason for writing such a thing. I came up with nothing, and just sighed.

In a change of pace, I started to pay attention to the teacher, who called the last of our class to recite their poems, though no one stepped forward and he shrugged it off, moving on with the lesson instead. I started writing, and solving a few problems to keep myself busy. Still, as if she was a cancer which had invaded my brain, I couldn't help but think of Fate, and the sad eyes that she briefly showed to me.

* * *

"What in the world is wrong with you?" Alisa asked me bluntly while we were walking through the halls. I had to go to a meeting with the track team, so I couldn't join my friends for lunch, but that didn't stop them from making the most of it, like right now.

"What do you mean?" The blond sighed, looking exasperated, more so when she saw Natsume approaching.

"I mean," She said, ignoring the arrival of the redhead, "You've been really weird ever since that new girl got here." I was surprised, I didn't think anyone noticed.

"Alisa-chan is right, Nanoha-chan." Suzuka said, adding her two cents. "Ever since she arrived, you've been paying a lot of attention to her." Natsume, who had been quiet before this, gasped in surprise, and mock despair.

"No fair, Nanoha-chan, don't tell me you fell for someone other than me!" My cheeks burned up at the mere mention of it. Before I said anything to them, I reasoned with myself. I knew it wasn't that, I didn't _like_ her, I was just fascinated by her, that's all. I wanted to be her friend. However, it would be hard to explain why I felt so strongly about doing that, without them forming the conclusion that I had a crush on her. "Ah, she's not saying anything, its trueeee!" Natsume only made it so much harder. Alisa, whacked her on the head, she was blushing as well.

"I-Idiot, there's no way that's it." I sighed myself, and decided to end this before anything began.

"That's not it, I just..." I pondered it some more for a moment, "I just thought it would be nice if I could become friends with her, that's all."

My three friends gave me unconvinced gazes, even Suzuka, who might have just joined in because it was fun for her. Either way, I was starting to become more embarrassed, and rather than dig myself any deeper, I took the smart and safe route. And so, my legs started to move.

"Ah, she's running away!" I bolted down the hall, completely leaving my friends in the dust, and giving a little more credibility to my acquired fame.

* * *

I breathed heavily, in and out, exhausted. A member of the track team came up to me, offering me a towel and a bottle of water. "Thank you." I said, giving her a wide smile, and gladly taking it from her. Of course, this had a very counterproductive effect, and the girl blushed, running away to her friends, probably off to exaggerate some things about me again.

I wiped away the sweat from my face and arms. Another girl slapped me on the back. It was Atsuko Nijima, the captain of the team. "Good work, Takamachi."

"Nyahaha, thanks." I was a little embarrassed, she laughed and patted me on the back, telling me to keep it up.

After I cleaned up the sweat from my body, and cooled down a little, I decided to go get changed.

My friends were waiting for me at the school gates, even though I told them not to. Natsume ran up and hugged me, annoying Alisa again, and even me a little since I probably didn't smell very good right now. So slowly I pushed her away, and she whined.

"I told you guys to go on without me, since I didn't know how long practice would be." They waved it off, smiling at me.

"What kind of friends would we be if we let ya walk home by yourself?" Alisa said.

"That's right, besides, I want to be with Nanoha-chan as much as possible." Natsume latched onto my arm then.

"Will you give that crap a rest already, Natsume!" Alisa tried to pull her off me, and it just ended with the three of us falling down on our asses. Suzuka, being the passive girl she was, giggled at us, and then offered us a hand up.

A few of my belongings had spilled from my bag, and as I put them back in, listening to Natsume's constant apologies for landing on me, I found that something was missing. "Crap," I accidentally said out loud, surprising my friends with my language. "Nyahaha, I forgot my English text book in my desk." I told them to go on ahead.

Since I would be coming back soon, they decided to just wait again, and I didn't stop them. I ran back into the school, scaling the stairs quickly as to not make them wait for too long. I reached our homeroom in no time, and swiftly slid the down open, not losing momentum as I moved inside.

"Eh!" A girl with golden hair backed away from me, but it was too late. I was in such a hurry, the process had already been put in motion, I couldn't stop now. My body collided into hers, and she went flying down to the ground.

She let out a small sound that resembled pain. By that time, I'd managed to recover, and see exactly what I've done.

"I-I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, and rushed to her side. I extended my hand to her, and she hesitated, looking up at me. Our eyes met, for the second time, and a blush crawled to both our faces when we realized that we were staring at each other. She finally took my hand, and I pulled her to her feet, quickly letting go, not wanting to look even weirder. "I'm sorry, I should have been more careful." She shook her head.

"Its fine, accidents happen." She said in her quiet voice, brushing herself off. "Excuse me..." She whispered and moved past me.

"Wait!" For some God forsaken reason, I grabbed her arm and stopped her. When she looked back, she almost appeared nervous, but quickly composed herself.

"Is there something you want with me?" I let go, I had never felt so embarrassed before. I was nervous, even though I had practices this so much in my head, the words I wanted to say didn't seem to come out. "I see... if you'll-"

"I-I'm Nanoha Takamachi!" My voice leaked out, loudly, making me only more embarrassed. Fate looked at me strangely, and then nodded her head.

"I'm Fate Testarossa." Listening to her voice, made my own get caught in my throat again. _Damn it, just say it!_

"Um... Fate-chan..." I said her name, finally, and it felt refreshing, like being hit by cold water during a heat wave. She gave me her full attention while I struggled, looking completely emotionless.

I gathered my courage, pushing away everything else, except that feeling that had welled up inside me the moment I first saw her beautiful, lonely eyes. "Fate-chan, this might sound weird, but I'd like it if we could be friends..." Her eyes showed a new emotion this time, complete and utter surprise.

She was quiet for a long time, I thought maybe she had fainted with her eyes open or something. And then she blinked, her eyes now reflecting something else. Sadness, regret, and other things that I couldn't understand. She pulled away from me, taking a few steps back.

"I'm sorry..." She said, her voice barely audible, "I don't think we should be friends, I..." She stopped and said no more, leaving her words unfinished. She left the room, walking away, I just exited the room as well, watching her go. My heart kind of hurt, that feeling of rejection was a new thing for me, so it was a sharp pain that I didn't like.

However, I couldn't give up yet, not until I figure out the reason why. But for now, I would let her go, though not without saying something else first. "Fate-chan," I called out to her, she stopped and looked at me, waiting. "I really liked your poem, even though I didn't understand it at all, I could tell that you really put your heart into it." Her eyes twitched with more flashes of emotion, which soon died and faded away, leaving her cold eyes.

"Thank you..." She said, and walked way, not stopping or looking again. I repeated her words in my head. They sounded sincere, even happy, and it made me feel warm. That's when I knew, I definitely wouldn't – no, I couldn't give up yet, not until the two of us became friends.

After Fate was gone, something else came to mind, and it made me nearly yell. During my interaction with her, I had completely forgotten the reason why I came back in the school in the first place. I ran into the class, grabbed my English textbook, and then made a mad dash back outside.

Natsume had gone home already, leaving behind the message that she had important things to do, and apologized. Suzuka was mildly annoyed, if you could call it that, she just asked me why I took so long. I was going to tell her, but then I saw Alisa's face, the raw anger on it made me stop.

She knocked me over the head, calling me an idiot for making them wait again. And then, she stormed away. I grinned, thinking of something to say. "I told you to go on without me." In no time at all, Alisa started walking away even faster, stomping her feet. I looked at Suzuka, who shrugged her shoulders and ran to catch up with the temperamental girl.

I sighed, and started to walk after them. Flashes of red and gold went through my head. A tiny smile came to my face, and I suddenly became anxious, wanting this day to end, and tomorrow to come quickly.

* * *

_A/N: The poem is originally from Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, by Frederica Bernkastel. I thought it fit in perfectly with what was going on with Fate. IF you need me to explain why, I'll be glad to do so. _


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: This chapter lacked inspiration if I wanted to be truthful, but I made it through okay. We're getting pretty close to the halfway point, and I'm getting excited, especially since the good stuff is coming soon. This time around no one has any questions, so it makes things a little easier for me. However, I will drop a nice hint, Alisa, Natsume and Suzuka will have a much larger focus in the next story. I've also noticed with this story, it has some Umineko vibes, especially the beginning. I like Umineko though, its quite entertaining. Anyway, lets begin, shall we?_

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

* * *

Fate came home after school like usual, unlocking and opening the door. The quiet inside greeted her, and she entered, alerting whoever was inside of her presence. Of course, like every day since moving into this home, like every day before that, for the past ten years, there was no one who would greet her. It was likely, as long as she lived in this home, that no one would come to greet her, for all eternity.

The cold chill of a familiar feeling crawled up her body, worming its way to her heart. She ran, blindly dashing up the stairs, toward her room. She slammed the door shut behind her, tossing her bag wildly, and jumping onto her bed.

With little energy to spare, Fate buried herself under her blanket. She closed her eyes, and curled herself into a ball. When she was surrounded by darkness, a set of blue orbs glowed in her minds eye. Beautiful, glittering, full of hope and kindness. The light in those eyes threatened to fill her heart so completely that it would burst. But she wouldn't let it, she would not let that light fill her heart again. She shut it out, and replaced the blue with two circles of blood red. The dark burgundy pierced through her, chilling her heart, making the advancement of the warmth stop in its tracks.

Fate finally opened her eyes, pulling the blanket away. She looked up at her desk, specifically at a picture that rested on the surface. Four characters filled the frame, two girls, identical in appearance, a woman with dark violet hair in the background, and a man with brown hair. Everyone was smiling, as if that were the happiest moment of their lives. For Fate, that was the truth, for that was the last time she saw such happy faces on those four figures.

Once more, a flash of blue clouded her mind, but she chased it away, she also chased away the words that accompanied the light, 'Fate-chan'. No, she would not give in to that deception again, and fall back into that hell which once captured her.

Clearing away the the threatening delusion, Fate took in a deep breath, and got out of bed. She walked out the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Her mother was due home in mere hours, so she would eat something quick, and then prepare dinner for her return. Even though it was all useless, since no one would eat her meals, for all eternity.

**Lyrical Girls**

**IV**

I was still thinking about Fate's rejection, even late into the night. It was hard, no, impossible to sleep. I don't know why I was so agitated, it was just the first attempt, and I _did_ come on strong, it was natural that I would freak her out a little. I was just going to have to try again, using a softer, gentler approach next time. I was the type of person who didn't like losing, so I wouldn't quit, not until she became my friend, or at least told me the reason why she couldn't.

I relayed this to Natsume, who called me just moments ago, asking me in detail about the encounter. "That's no good, Nanoha-chan, you'll scare her away if you keep pushing like that."

"Well then, what do you suggest I do?" She giggled.

"Maybe you should hit her, it worked wonders on Alisa." I blushed, remembering the day that Alisa and I became friends, what an embarrassing memory. She was such a bully back then, especially to Suzuka, but I set her straight, and showed her that it wasn't right to hurt people's feelings. But...

"There's no way I can just hit Fate-chan." Natsume sighed, agreeing with me.

"Then its plan B. According to you, that girl has separated herself from people, and set up a dozen walls between her and them. If that's the case, the best course of action is to slowly break down each one, until you finally reach her heart."

"And _how_ do I do that?" I had to get through Fate's defenses, I knew that much, but the trick was doing it.

"Its easy," Natsume said, I could almost feel a grin on her as she spoke. "All you need to do is randomly encounter her all the time, spark conversation, and trigger all the right flags." The last part made me grimace.

"Natsume-chan, you haven't been playing _those_ games again, have you?" The girl on the other end laughed, answering my question.

"Don't worry about me, you're the one with the crush."

"I said it isn't like that!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Nanoha-chan." I was already starting to feel exhausted by this phone call. I should have just called Suzuka if I needed help, rather than indulge Natsume in her delusions. "Anyway, I gotta go, lots of homework to do, see ya tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." I hung up and was I left right back where I started. Suddenly getting the urge too, I looked down at my hand, the one which took hold of Fate's arm. I blushed, and then shook my head, chasing away the thought of how soft and warm it was.

* * *

The next day was excruciating, well, at least for me it was. Fate was there when I entered the class with Alisa and Suzuka. Our eyes met, and for a moment, her cheeks became a little red, so did mine. She looked away, decided to stare out the window instead. I took my seat, which gave me another perfect view of her back again.

I felt someone poking me from behind, I turned my head and someone handed me a folded note. It was from Suzuka. I opened it up:

"_Alisa-chan and I will eat lunch by ourselves today, so you can have some time alone with her. Good luck, Nanoha-chan!" _

My face flushed, I pointed it down to my desk, crumpling the paper up. I hid the note and went back to staring at Fate's back, trying my best not to look embarrassed.

* * *

I caught Fate on her way to a very secluded part of the school. It was a place that people hardly went to since it was kind of creepy, but it was also the perfect place to have a talk.

"Fate-chan!" I called her name and she stopped, as if frozen in her tracks. By the time I caught up with her, hardly anyone was left around us. She twisted her face around at me, a shade of pink streaked across it.

"..." She didn't say anything to me, I took that to mean that she was waiting for me to make the first move.

I held up my bento at her. "Lets have lunch together!" She turned her face back forward.

"I'll... have to decline." And she started walking again. I puffed out my cheeks, taking this as a challenge, and started walking alongside her.

The two of us walked in silence, and continued that way for quite some time. Actually, by this point, I was feeling a little awkward about the whole thing. I didn't really know what to say, and just followed her, almost like some kind of stalker.

Eventually, when she saw that there was no more people, Fate-chan stopped and sat down. She opened up her bento, revealing a delicious looking lunch. I looked down at her as she attempted to eat, however her hand stopped and started shaking.

"D-Do you want something?" I scratched my head, holding out my bento again.

"I just wanted to have lunch with you, Fate-chan." All of a sudden I felt a little bad about this, since she looked very uncomfortable. I changed my mind. "I'm sorry, I'm probably bugging you, I'll go now." I was about to leave, when her eyes looked up at me. There was still that dark, chilling feeling in them, but they seemed a bit softer somehow.

"Do whatever you want..." She started eating quietly after that, and didn't open her mouth again. I smiled, and sat down beside her. The two of us ate a silent meal. I could feel it, I had reached a milestone, I triggered one of the "flags" as Natsume would say.

From time to time, Fate would look at me, when she thought that I didn't notice. That was okay, I was doing the same thing, playing this game of cat and mouse. It was kind of fun, I couldn't wait to do it again. The smile on my face grew, to hide my embarrassment, I started stuffing my face with rice. I probably imagined it, but when I did that, I could have sworn that I heard a soft, happy, but almost inaudible sigh.

* * *

I was on a roll today. During class, Fate looked at me at least twice, once when she was sitting down, and the other for no reason at all. I also passed her in the hall, and gave her a wave, to which she didn't respond. However, her cheeks reddened, and she looked down at her feet as I passed, it was a start.

And now here I am, after school. There was no track practice today, so I could actually go home on time. However, I was not meant to lead such a boring life. On the way out of the school, I saw Fate walking in the opposite direction that I would normally walk. I looked at my friends, Natsume and Alisa grinned at me, while Suzuka gave me a little 'shooing' gesture. I thanked them silently and ran after the blond.

"Fate-chan!"

Again she froze up, and turned my way, catching sight of me as I caught up with her. The air between us was a little tense, and I gulped before laughing nervously. "Nyahahaha, Fate-chan, want to walk together?"

"But..." Her eyes took a strange look, embarrassment. "Don't you live the other way?" This time it was my turn to freeze. _How...how did she know that?_ I set that matter aside for now, and waved my hands in front of me.

"I don't mind, I want to, Fate-chan." She mulled it over quietly, eventually nodding her head.

"Okay..."

And so we walked, though it was in complete silence, but it was another step forward. It seemed like she was getting a bit more used to me, at least I hoped so. I didn't mind it that we didn't say anything, I was happy with taking things slowly. Thinking about it like that, I blushed and almost groaned as well. _Damn, it does sound sound like I'm in love with her. But I'm not... am I?_ This was a serious question, one I didn't have an answer for. I never thought about it like that, at least not until Natsume pointed it out.

I forcefully pushed that line of thinking away, even knocked myself on the head. I didn't want to think about it, all I wanted right now was to walk with Fate. Speaking of which, she was looking at me again, but quickly looked away when I noticed. It was a little cute, how shy she was. _Bad Nanoha, no more thinking about that._ Once again, the quiet journey continued.

* * *

We came to a large, white, classic looking house. It was quite beautiful, I couldn't imagine what kind of people lived behind those doors. Fate stopped in front of it, looking at me, then looking away, repeating this a few times. I finally understood.

"R-Right, I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded, but didn't move, instead she gazed at me firmly, showing me her cold eyes again.

"Why are you so nice to someone like me...?" Without waiting for my answer, she ran away, unlocking her door and escaping inside, though not before giving me a final look.

I stood there, completely dumbfounded, not sure exactly what I should do. I wanted to answer her question, but it was too late now, it would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, I turned around and started going back where I came from, beginning the long journey home. The answer I had in mind, I would definitely tell her tomorrow, even if I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind it.

_Its because I want to see you smile, Fate-chan..._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Finally we've reached the halfway point I believe. Now that were here, I can finally reward you a little for reading this story. Anyway I'm sure many of you will enjoy this chapter greatly. Also, I figured out more of what I want to do with the next story, so coming soon: angst. Not much I want to say, I'll start cranking up the drama next chapter, and start setting up the ending. Until next time..._

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

**

* * *

Lyrical Girls**

**V**

I laid on my bed, looking up at the ceiling, secluded in a world of my own thoughts. Fate flowed through my mind, her golden hair and beautiful eyes; so sad, so lonely, longing to have someone acknowledge the beauty of them. Despite being a delusion of mine, I was sure that was the truth. Not being able to shake it away, I wanted to be the one who would free her from those dark chains.

But I was still not there yet. I was getting closer to her, and was almost able to free her, but then she said that thing. _"Why are you so nice to someone like me?"_ It kind of threw me off, since I wasn't able to form an answer for her right away, before she left. The way she asked that question, made it sound like she had a sin, one so great that she deserved to be alone, and lonely for her entire life. Even if I thought she couldn't have done something so terrible, it was possible, so I put my judgment of that matter aside.

Rather, the thing I was thinking about most right now was how I was going to take that final step, and make her my friend. I was so close, so another big push should do it. However, I was insecure. I didn't want to come off as annoying, or creepy, so I hesitated to form any plans of attack.

There was a knock at my door, interrupting my thoughts. "Nanoha." It was mom, so I quickly got to my feet and traveled to the door, finding her cheerful face. "The bath is ready."

"Okay." She left me alone and merrily went away. I found her happy attitude a bit annoying, but it made me smile. _I'll think about it later,_ I said, referring to Fate. For now, I grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

"Nanoha-chan, good morning!" Natsume lunged at me as soon as I came into view. Not in the mood for this today, I side stepped her, and she fell into Alisa.

"Get off me, idiot!" She of course pushed the poor girl away. Actually, if it wasn't for Suzuka making a swift action to prevent it, Natsume probably would have fallen down.

"Are you alright, Natsume-chan?" Natsume nodded, blushing slightly.

"Thanks, glad to know I can always count on you." The redhead collected herself, and rather than fight with Alisa again, she just started walking away from us. "I'm gonna go on ahead, see ya later." She ran away, though none of us chased after her, to do so probably would have seemed silly. In any case, I had more important matters on my mind anyway.

"I'm going to go too." I said, the others nodded, knowing that I was off to get a early start with Fate. As I ran off, I heard Alisa sigh, and mutter something. I felt bad, I was neglecting my friends a little lately. _I'll do something about it later, _I reasoned, and shoved it aside.

* * *

I found Fate at her desk as expected, she had her nose buried in a book this time. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a light novel, one I was a little familiar with. Strangely enough, it was a magical girl series, "Magical Girl Musical Madoka".

I wasn't really into that kind of thing, but when I saw Fate reading it, I thought it was a little cute.

"Um..." She looked in my direction, I realized that our faces weren't that far apart, since I had come in close to see what she was reading. With a nervous giggle I backed away.

"Nyahahaha, I see you're into those kinds of novels, Fate-chan." The way I said it, it probably sounded like an insult, so I felt like cracking my own skull open. Fate blushed, closing it and putting it away.

"..." She looked like she wanted to say something, but kept it inside. Again, I laughed nervously, knowing that I ruined the mood before I could set it.

"I didn't mean anything bad by that. I just found it surprising, and also a little cute I guess." This only made the blush on her cheeks more noticeable, now she was gazing down at her desk to avoid looking at me. _Damn it, I'm just making it worse!_ If I wanted to scare her to death, I would have smashed my head against her desk in frustration right there. "A-Anyway, I thought maybe, you might want to each lunch again; we can invite everyone else too, it will be fun."

She glanced at me for a second, and then seemed to be thinking it over. "No... thank you, I'm not really..." I could guess what she wanted to say, that she wasn't very good with people, so bringing along a bunch of them would be a problem. Since that was probably the case, I revised my plan a bit.

"Okay, then it can be just us again." She looked my way again, letting her gaze linger for a little longer this time.

"I couldn't..." She stopped, biting her lip, chewing it lightly, and then releasing the pressure after a few seconds. Having enough of this game, I took her hand in mine. It was kind of embarrassing, especially when a few of the girls around me started making noise, but I held onto it nonetheless. Fate looked dumbstruck, and unsure of what to do. I wondered it if occurred to her, to just pull away; I didn't have a particularly strong grip on her hand, so it would have been easy, and I would have let her. However, she was so surprised that she didn't do anything, leaving me this one and only chance.

"Fate-chan." I gave her my famous puppy dog eyes, which have been said to subdue even the most reluctant person. Her face exploded into red, and she stumbled with her voice. But finally, _finally,_ she managed to speak clearly.

"Okay..." I nearly yelled in joy, and found myself very embarrassed, having everyone around me whispering weird things about us.

I let go of her hand. Because the class was going to start, I confirmed with my friends beforehand, that I would be eating with Fate again. They were understanding, but I promised that I would bring her into our circle soon, when she was comfortable. Afterward I went back to my seat. Fate looked back at me for a moment, and I smiled at her. She quickly turned away and looked forward, a smile crossed my face, and I happily looked ahead at her back once again.

* * *

The two of us sat side by side again, setting our lunches out. Just like before, we ate in silence. In the first place, I never expected her to say anything, I was content with just being here with her. But still, I wanted things to be different this time, so I knew it had to be me that started things off.

"You're lunch looks really good," I told her, pointing down at her bento, "Did your mom make it?" She stopped eating, setting her chop sticks down. All of a sudden her eyes became really misty, as if she might start crying. _Oh no, did I just say something I shouldn't have?_

"I made it..." She said, "Mother... isn't really around very much, so I make my own lunch." The air between us felt thick and heavy all of a sudden. _Ah! I'm so stupid, stupid stupid! _As I berated myself repeatedly, Fate stared at me intensely.

"W-What is it?" She blushed again, I did too since I wasn't expecting such a look from her. It felt like ever since I met her, my face has constantly be red, it was like curse. Thinking about it didn't make her eyes go away, but eventually her gaze softened up.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Why do you want to be friends with someone like me?" There it was again, "Someone like me". I didn't like it, what she said about herself, or the way she said it – actually, it was starting to get on my nerves because I didn't understand anything.

"Fate-chan," I said sternly at her, and took hold of her hand again, against my better judgment. "Why do you keep saying that about yourself? Why shouldn't I want to be friends with you?"

The blush she would have had from me holding her hand was replaced by a sorrowful look, and now it really looked like she might cry.

"I don't deserve your kindness, because, because..." A tear slid down her cheek, "Because I killed my sister..."

My eyes went wide open as time came to a complete halt around me. I even dropped my chop sticks, and felt myself at a loss for words. _She...what did she just say?_ I was in shock, but I think that was an inappropriate reaction, because it only served to make things worse.

Fate, whatever horrible memory she was recalling at this moment, it was making her eyes flood like a waterfall. "10 years ago... because of me...Alicia nee-san and father..."

"Fate-chan!" I don't know why I yelled her name, maybe it was the look of absolute despair in her eyes, the gaze of someone whose soul was dying. With even more strangeness that didn't suit me, I reached out and embraced her, holding her close, as close as I possibly could. The students who wandered around stared at us, and it was embarrassing, but it was nothing compared to the painful feeling in my heart, so I endured it, and just let Fate cry into my chest.

Her tears and her wailing lasted for a long time, even I couldn't tell how long. As if it wasn't bad enough, I found myself crying as well, as if her tears were creating a chain reaction. But when it was finally over, she just made small sniffling noises, and pushed herself away. Her eyes were red and her nose running, her cheeks flushed and her lips curved downward.

"I'm sorry..." She said, I couldn't believe that she was the one apologizing to me. I sighed, trying my best to put a smile on my face. I dig into my pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

"Here." I said, offering it to her. She didn't take it, so I just wiped her eyes and nose for her. Now her face was all cleaned up, but her eyes were still blood red.

"Thank you..." The red flush on her cheeks became even darker, I shook my head.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Her surprised face was cute, even though it looked like she might cry all over again.

"Are you sure? Someone like me... I don't even know how to make friends with someone..." Ever since I met Fate, something has changed inside me, and moments like this only made that change more apparent. Before, I would have never looked a person in the eyes, and held my hand against their cheek to console them, and yet I was doing it right now. Even though I wasn't some kind of friend making genius, the perfect words to say to her seemed to just pop into mind.

"Fate-chan, making friends is really easy." Time, which had only just started flowing again, stopped once more for this moment. "The first step is the easiest. All you have to do, is call that person's name." With my other hand, I took complete hold of her face. "Fate-chan." I said softly, like a gentle breath.

Fate was hesitant at first, probably because of that horrible memory which seemed to torment her. But, even as her body trembled, she didn't look away from me. "Nanoha..." I nodded, smiling at her. "Nanoha..." She said it again, more sure of herself. "Nanoha."

"Fate-chan."

This moment was a lot like a cheesy scene from an anime, where the two main characters would just sit there, gazing into each others eyes, until...

"You guys sure look comfortable." Both of us froze up, and slowly turned out heads. Alisa was looked down at us, visibly annoyed. Suzuka and Natsume could be seen behind her. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Alisa you idiot, the mood was just getting good!" The redhead said to her, sparking another conflict.

I noticed that Suzuka was blushing a little, and I realized why. My hands were still cupping Fate's cheeks, our faces were also pretty close together. No matter who it was, even if it was me, if I saw two people in this situation, I'd be sure that they were about to kiss. I felt my ears burning, I swear that my head was going to start smoking from the heat.

I pulled away from Fate and scratched my head with embarrassment. The blond looked the same as me, so I assumed that the feeling right now was mutual.

There were many rumors started during that lunch period, Natsume being the one to spread some of them. However, in the end, it all worked out for the best. I got to walk back to class with her, holding her hand along the way, so that we may share the embarrassment together. It felt nice, and I forgot all about her tears from before. Fate was finally my friend, and I felt like there was nothing that could ruin the happiness that I was experiencing right now.

* * *

_A/N: jajajajajajajaja_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I'm very sorry for this delay, really. I haven't had any internet for a few days, so I haven't been able to upload this, even though it was done several days ago. Normally, as an apology, I would have written two chapters, but instead used that time to finish a short story that's been in the makings for a year. Anyway, to apologize, I shall add a preview of Lyrical Girls A's at the end of the chapter. Don't worry, its in a nice format that shouldn't spoil anything in this story, but if it does, its nothing that you can't already figure out. To conclude this, I should also make a note of the fact that this did managed to give me time to do some real editing, so I hope it looks nicer than my other fics. With that I'll leave you guys to reading, have fun. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

* * *

"_Why... did she choose someone like me?" _Fate thought, examining her ceiling as she lay on her bed. Her heart was in conflict. Even though she promised herself that she wouldn't get involved with anyone else, and swore not to get close to another person since the accident, it seemed like she couldn't keep that promise anymore.

Nanoha Takamachi, a strange, cheerful and outgoing girl who was the same age; the irony of that juxtaposition was not lost on a downer such as herself. Unable to resist her persistence any longer, Fate finally accepted the girl's proposition and became her friend. Her heart raced thinking about it, that intimate moment, where the warmth of Nanoha's hands touched against her tear stained cheeks. Never before had anyone gotten so close to her, or shown her such concern, never before has anyone shared their tears with her.

She wanted to be happy, and yet could not. As warm as she felt, the cold fingers of despair and guilt crept up her body, chilling her blood. Her sister, Alicia Testarossa, who she killed ten years ago with her selfishness, along with their father. Memories of that day crushed her high spirits.

That horrible accident, which claimed both their lives. "_Why was I the only one to survive?"_ To this day, that guilt consumed her, the guilt that can only be felt by someone who lived in place of those who've died.

Fate slapped both her cheeks, trying to get rid of all her unpleasant feelings. She focused solely on Nanoha's smile, and held that image close to her heart. That alone made her feel better, that was enough for her at this moment.

Downstairs, the door opened and closed loudly, alerting Fate of her mother's return. Quickly she rushed to greet her, smiling widely as she did. "Welcome home, mother." She said, and got absolutely no response in return. The violet-haired women, whose eyes made her look like the walking dead, just brushed past Fate.

"I'll be in my room, do not disturb me, Fate." Precia Testarossa, disappeared into a door to the right. Even though she had been told not to disturb her, Fate went into the kitchen, grabbing the woman's dinner.

When she entered Precia's room after heating up the meal, the woman was already hard at work, engrossed fully in what she was doing. Fate walked up to her, holding the hot meal in her hands. "Mother, I made you dinner." Precia stopped immediately, and looked back at her daughter, the glint in her eyes suggested that she was furious.

"I told you not to bother me, especially not with such nonsense!" She slapped the plate out of Fate's hands. Some of the meal landed on her, burning her arms, and staining her clothes, the rest hit the floor. "What are you waiting for? Clean this up and get the hell out!" She flinched, nearly being brought to tears over her mother's rage. When she didn't move right away, Precia only got more angry.

She rose to her feet, standing tall over Fate. She raised her hand and delivered a harsh slap to the blond's face. "I said clean it up, you idiot!"

"Yes mother! I'm sorry!" Fate did as she was told, cleaning the mess at record speeds. She left the room as fast as she could, not wanting to incite her mother's rage again. Afterward, she ran back to her room and buried herself under the covers. Not even Nanoha's shining image could stop her tears from flowing.

**Lyrical Girls**

**VI**

When I saw Fate the next morning, she seemed to be shut away in another world. Even as I called her name, she said nothing, not even when I was standing right in front of her. "Fate-chan." I touched her shoulder and she jumped back, looking terrified until she saw my face.

"Ah Nanoha... good morning."

"Good morning, Fate-chan." I wanted to think that it was just my imagination, but the look of fear in her eyes for that moment was getting to me. "Fate-chan, are you alright? Did something happen?"

"N-No." She answered, much to quickly, it was suspicious. I'm the type of person who usually investigates these kinds of things, since I hate it when people lie to me. However, in this case, remembering the way she cried yesterday, I decided to let it go for now, not wanting to have a repeat of that right here in the class.

Instead, I smiled at her, patting her shoulder and taking my seat. I came in late, so class was going to start very soon. Alisa and Suzuka, who were much slower than me, didn't make it in time. Unfortunately for them, they were a few moments too late, and got a stern warning from the teacher.

For the entire period, Fate looked off into space, not paying the least bit attention to anything around her. When I saw her sigh, it started to worry me. To be honest, it was distracting. Even though I wanted to do good in school, I couldn't get into it if one of my friends was having a problem. I decided that I would press Fate at lunch. She sighed again, and suddenly, my heart started to ache a little.

* * *

I caught Fate leaving the class at lunch. "Fate-chan, wait!" She took notice of me, smiling sheepishly. "Lets have lunch together, okay?" She nodded and followed my lead. Instead of the place where the two of us ate before, we went outside, sitting under a tree.

"Why did we come here?" I didn't expect her to understand right away, but when my other three friends started coming toward us, she managed to grasp it.

"I thought it would be nice to eat with everyone, is that okay?" I gave her the puppy dog eyes again, but was secretly fretting, thinking that it might be too soon for her. Her cheeks became pink, and she nodded, giving me the okay.

I waved down the others and they joined us, bringing lots of enthusiasm, especially Natsume, who got in close to me again. She wrapped her arm around my neck, pointing her finger at Alisa teasingly. "I missed this, my Nano-charge is now complete." She said, rubbing her cheek against me. I sighed, not even wanting to go into whatever she was talking about. Fate gazed at me silently, blushing, and meekly trying to appear as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"Everyone," I said, pointing to Fate, "I think its rude to not introduce yourselves to Fate-chan." Of course, Fate started waving her hands around, blushing even more now that the spotlight was on her.

"Please don't! I mean, there's no need to be considerate of me." Suzuka giggled as usual, having found another interesting person to play with.

"Don't be so reserved, I'm Suzuka." She said happily, only making the other girl more embarrassed.

"Alisa Bannings, nice to meet ya." Alisa introduced herself next, giving her a friendly wave.

"And I'm Nanoha-chan's wife!" Natsume said, hugging me tightly. In one second flat, she received a fist to the head from Alisa.

"This idiot right here is Natsume, don't get to close to her, she'll turn you into a weirdo." Taking it seriously, Fate nodded.

"I-I'm Fate Testarossa, n-nice to meet you." She managed to stutter out with her face completely red. My heart did a back flip, because it was so cute that I almost couldn't stand it.

Natsume, having recovered finally from Alisa's assault, once again wrapped her arms around me, but also eyed Fate suspiciously when she found us looking at each other. "Ohoho~," laughed in a very creepy way, grinning at Fate, targeting her. "Prepare yourself Testarossa, I wont hand my Nanoha-chan over to you without a fight!" She was struck again by Alisa almost right away. "Owowo! You're so mean, Alisa."

"If you stopped saying that kind of crap, I wouldn't have to hit you."

In the end, it was the typical lunch that I had become accustomed to since meeting everyone. As embarrassing as it was, it was still really fun. When Alisa and Natsume argued and fought, Suzuka and I laughed like usual, and when they finally stopped, we comforted the two of them like always. And then the cycle would continue again, over and over.

The only difference was that Fate was here now, sharing these wonderful experiences with me. The sadness on her face had finally left, and my troubling feelings on the matter were allowed to disappear as well. She even looked like she was having fun. She was shy, and only smiled and giggled when she thought no one could hear or see her, but she was definitely having fun. I knew that I made the right choice. Yes, seeing that happy look on Fate's face, which made my heart flutter, there was no way it could be wrong to be her friend, even if she thought so.

* * *

Fate was waiting for me when I finished track practise, along with Natsume. Alisa and Suzuka went home early, since we had a lot of homework to get done.

"Yo, Nanoha-chan." The red head said as I came up to them, hot and sweating. Fate stayed silent, but offered me a smile, which I returned.

"Let me get changed, I'll be back in a second." Not wanting to keep them waiting for very long, I quickly changed, even putting my skirt on over my shorts. Afterward, we left, and headed toward the school gates.

Just when we got outside, my phone started ringing. I sighed when I saw that it was my mom calling, and answered the call reluctantly. "...okay...I understand..." When I hung up, I felt a little depressed. Turning to my friends I delivered the bad news. "Sorry, I gotta help at the cafe, so I need to hurry home."

"Roger~! I'll escort the princess home then." She told me with a wink. And before Fate could protest it, she was already being pushed along. "See ya, Nanoha-chan."

"Bye Natsume-chan, Fate-chan." I ran off, and hoped that Natsume wouldn't tease Fate too much.

* * *

Natsume waved as Nanoha ran off, and her earlier feelings of elation wear away. She looked at Fate, shooting her an uninterested glance. "Shall we?" She offered her hand to the girl, though Fate declined to hold hands with her, nodded and started walking. "Heh." She started walking in step with the woman, holding her hands behind her head.

It was a very silent journey. Neither of them had ever been alone with each other, and one of the two was not very good with people to begin with. "So Fate-chan, have you been enjoying our school?" Fate nodded quietly. _Jeez, talk about a tough nut to crack. _A quick thought came to mind, and a grin spread across her face. "Hey Fate-chan, what do you think of Nanoha-chan?" She stopped walking.

"I think she's really kind, but..."

"You don't want to get close to her right?" Fate was suddenly froze up, stunned, and the air around them seemed to get a little heavier at that moment. "Don't worry, I just have a feeling, because I'm the same way." Natsume took the girls hand and started leading her on, continuing their travels. "I may act like this, but for the most part, I'm scared of letting anyone - or rather, just one person into my heart. No one wants to be hurt, especially not by someone whom they've deemed special." The redhead started to vaguely recall something, a very painful memory that she thought was far behind her. _No, not now..._ She forcibly pushed that memory away. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is: Its okay to be scared of losing someone, it happens, but you shouldn't let that deter you from getting close to someone in the first place, you'll regret it if you do." What Natsume said came directly from her memories. She had someone that she loved and trusted, someone she wanted to share her heart with, a special girl who meant everything to her. And even though she was scared of letting that girl get close to her, that didn't stop her from trying. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Fate-chan?"

"Yes..." Fate squeezed the hand of this girl, who understood her feelings a little, becoming more at ease.

"Fate-chan." They stopped again. "Please be kind to Nanoha-chan, she's serious about you. I don't want to see her get hurt by anything, so please treat her gently." Fate smiled. She was the one who wanted to be treated with kindness, and she was sure that Natsume understood that, because the girl chuckled. "Right, I shouldn't be saying that to you. Anyway, enough of this depressing talk, lets get you home, Fate-hime~!"

The journey continued again, and the two girls continued to hold hands. As they went, Natsume once again felt a very dark, and familiar feeling creeping inside her. _I should call Suzuka when I get home,_ she thought. Of all the people in the world, Suzuka was the only person who truly understood her feelings, and the only one she could talk to about this horrible sensation flowing through her.

However, not wanting to let that evil feeling seem out into the world and ruin the mood, Natsume started to hum a song, and then started thinking about Nanoha. _Good luck, Nanoha-chan..._

_

* * *

_

"There's... no time left."

"Are you sure its okay to leave things like this?"

"Hehe~, I don't need help for every little thing you know."

"Thank you, Nanoha, for always being there for me..."

"Why is it... that I can never seem to think straight when I'm with you?"

"I'm sorry, this isn't personal, so forgive us."

"Its enough... I'm prepared, that's why its enough now."

"Even if it was a trivial event for you, to me, it was... "

"I'm happy now, and I finally understand your feelings, that's why I can forgive you."

"Is it really okay, not telling her?"

"There must be something we can do! I can't just give up without trying!"

"I'm so happy, being with you all, even if it was just for this short amount of time, it made me really happy... thank you..."

"I'm warning you, if you hurt her, I'll never forgive you, Natsume-chan."

"On that day, you saved my life..."

"You really are an idiot, Fate-chan."

"Hayate... damn it, even though were family, why can't I do anything!"

"This is the end, isn't it...?"

"We haven't given up on you yet, so don't give up either, okay?"

"For their sakes, lets do our best, okay, Alisa?"

"Just a little more, hold on for just a little longer."

"Everyone...thank you...thank you so much!"

"I see... to me, Fate-chan is, Fate-chan is..."

"I can't hold back these feelings anymore... I love you!"

**Lyrical Girls A's**

**Coming Soon...**


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Hello again, bet you didn't think you'd see another chapter so soon. Anyway, now that my short story is done (and looking beautiful), I am back on track. To clear up some confusion, the quotes at the end of the last chapter was just a preview of the next story. I wanted to give you a glimpse of what was to come, without spoiling the current story, and I think I did that. Moving on, I'm glad to see everyone so excited for this story, I can't believe how popular it is so far, so thank you for reading. Even when this story ends, there will be plenty of material left for next "season", namely Natsume's backstory and secret love , which will be one of larger focuses of A's. But, that's enough of that, lets get into the story. _

_- Kode-Dekka_

* * *

**Lyrical Girls**

**VII**

Fate has been starting to act really weird lately. Three weeks have passed since we became friends, and in that time she's become a lot more cheerful than she was before, she even smiled more often. When everyone hung out together, she talked more, and didn't seem as nervous, it was a dream come true.

However, something must have happened to her, because ever since three days ago, she's been weird. All of a sudden, she's quiet again, and she gets evasive when I ask her if anything is wrong. Before, when we first became friends, I didn't ask questions, she cried at that time, so I didn't want to bring up anything that might be painful to her. Now is different, our relationship has improved and is soild, so I feel like I should start to ask her, why she never talks about her family, or her home life. She's been especially quick to dodge whenever that topic comes up, to the point where I'm starting to really get worried about her.

So I was sitting in class, staring at her again as I thought about what I should do. I didn't want to intrude too much, it wasn't my business. Still, the worry was unbearable, it felt like my heart was on fire when I thought that she might be unhappy about something.

I realized that I shouldn't be this nosy or concerned, but there was something about her that did this to me. She had a power, which took me in, making everything else seem trivial. _Maybe I am in love with her, just like everyone says._ Feeling this way, like my heart was connected to hers, feeling pain because I believed that she was in pain as well. I wasn't an idiot, even I could see the signs, I didn't need them pointed out to me. Normally, behaving this way, thinking and feeling this way, would mean that I was infatuated with her. But I knew that wasn't it, somehow I knew, it wasn't like that. It was something else, something more than that, more than a silly crush, something deeper that I haven't yet figured out.

As the teacher wrote some things down, Fate turned her face toward me, as if she could feel my eyes on her. When our eyes met the two of us blushed, like a pair of elementary school students. Something strange also happened, I didn't look away, neither did she, we just continued to look at each other. I peered into her, trying to find a clue as to what this unsettling feeling in my heart was. She blinked, and for a moment, it seemed like she wanted to say something to me, even her lips twitched. However, she eventually looked away, facing back at the blackboard. The feeling in me grew, I thought about what she might have been trying to say, and did my best to figure out what just happened. Like a broken record, I sighed, and decided to wait until lunch to confront her.

* * *

The two of us ate alone, in silence. Suzuka and Alisa could tell that I wanted to be alone with Fate today, and they dragged Natsume with them to stay out of my way. Even though we've been together ever day since I befriended her, I still couldn't get used to the fact that the blond could be so quiet at times.

"Fate-chan." I called her, she looked at me, right about to stuff a bit of rice into her mouth. Again, I looked deep into her eyes, to the point where it just became embarrassing, for both of us.

"W-What is it, Nanoha?" As her face flushed red, I gathered a little courage.

"Fate-chan, is something going on at home? Lately you've been acting strange, and I thought that maybe something happened." She stiffened up, which told me that I was on the right track, but I allowed her time to speak for herself, rather than push it.

"Its nothing, don't worry about it..." She did it again, and brushed me off, even though I could see clearly on her face, something was wrong.

"Fate-chan, I'm asking because I'm worried. Sometimes, it looks like you, like you're..." _Like you're in pain, _I thought, but couldn't tell her. "Anyway, I'm your friend, so I'm asking because I care about you." I don't know where those emotional words came from, but I knew they were true, and I did indeed care in some capacity about her.

Fate must have understood my feelings, because she started to look guilty then, and fidgeted. "Really, it isn't anything important..." She looked vulnerable and all of a sudden, nervous. My body moved on its own, and I reached out, touching her arm gently. She flinched and backed away a little from me. I noticed that her hand was shaking, and that wasn't all; I don't know how I never noticed before, but thinking back on it, I've never seen Fate once wear anything but long sleeved shirts.

I put a few of the pieces together, and came to the conclusion that there was something about her arm that she didn't want me to see. "Fate-chan..." I touched the fabric of her sleeve, and started to pull it up, but she stopped my hand with her own.

"Please don't Nanoha, its nothing..." I don't know why I did it, why I ignored her request. The feelings inside me, my intense curiosity, and the worry I had may have done it. No matter the reason, I pulled up her sleeve, this time she didn't stop me, and allowed me to see.

Small red, and sometimes purple looking bruises covered her arm, all the way up to the shoulder. I wasn't a doctor, but even I could tell that they were made recently.

Fate yanked her arm back, pulling the sleeve back down to cover it up, and held her arm. "Please, please don't tell anyone..." I tried to process it a little more, and found a question that I wanted to ask her now.

"Fate-chan, did your mom do this?" She told me that her dad had died in the same accident that claimed her sister, but didn't go into details about what happened afterward, or even about what happened on that day. She lived her mom, who was the only person that could have done something like this to her, for whatever awful reason. "Fate-chan, tell me, did she do this to you?" I wanted to reach my arms around her and hug her, I wanted to pour all my affection into her, anything to make the look of pain on her face disappear.

"It's my fault, because I made her angry. She didn't mean to, mother didn't mean it..."

Something bubbled up inside me then, I think it was anger. Fate's mom was doing this to her, and yet she was blaming herself, even though she's the victim. It pissed me off, that anyone would do this to my friend, let alone her own mother.

I only got angrier when I put more pieces together. The way Fate was acting before, the reason she avoids talking about her mom, or her home, I understood everything all at once. Whatever this was, it wasn't a one time thing, this had been happening over time, possibly for years.

I grabbed her face with both hands, and forced her to look at me. "Fate-chan, this isn't right. You have to tell someone, you can't let her do this to you." She shook her head violently.

"I can't, she doesn't mean to do it, its all my fault, because I-" I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her close to me, embracing her for the second time in our friendship.

"Don't say that, there's no way it can be your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, Fate-chan." Her fingers dug into my back as she gripped my shirt.

"I... Its all my fault, because I kill them, Alice-neesan and Dad..." I felt her body convulse suddenly, she was crying again, something that I've been wanting to avoid. "Please don't tell anyone, please..." I pulled back so that I could look into her eyes.

She was so terrified, so hurt that I could feel my heart breaking. Tears streamed down her face, and she looked at me with begging eyes, which pleaded with me not to say anything about what I saw. She seemed so small then, so small and fragile that it looked like she could break if I applied the smallest amount of pressure to her.

I was conflicted, and couldn't figure out what to do. I knew that this couldn't go on, I didn't want to see her get hurt anymore. But she didn't have the courage to do anything, and she wanted me to promise to leave it alone, even though she should know that I couldn't do that.

Under her breath, I could hear her muttering something that sounded a lot like "please don't tell...", she was saying it over and over. I should have ignored her, but I couldn't. Her face was so twisted with grief that I couldn't say no to it, I just wanted her to smile again. That's why... That's why...

"Okay, I wont tell anyone... I promise." Her eyes lit up, and a terrible smile formed on her face as she hugged me of her own accord.

"Thank you, thank you..." I returned her gesture by squeezing her against my chest, but I didn't feel happy. I was ashamed of myself, because just as she didn't have the courage to say anything, I didn't have the courage to defy her wishes.

We stayed like this until the bell rung, and even a little after, which made us late. I held her while she cried, and whispered to me words of gratitude, with that hallow and empty voice of hers.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Again, another long wait, sorry bout that. I did some editing on that short story I was writing, because I wanted it to be perfect, and its probably about as good as its going to get. To apologize, I shall post the link to download it, so you can read it and judge it for yourself. _(.com/?9258z4u87qd0mmg). _Moving on, this chapter means were pretty close to the end. I estimate only 2 or 3 more chapters before this story is done, then we can move onto the really good stuff. Anyway, why are you still looking at this? Get to reading. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

**

* * *

Lyrical Girls**

**Chapter VIII**

I didn't know what I should do about Fate. I know that I promised that I wouldn't say a word about her being abused, but how could she expect me to keep such a promise? There was no way I would be able to keep it to myself, and I think Fate knew that.

That only raised a question: why would she tell me, even though she knew I would reveal everything? No matter how I thought about it, I could only come up with a single reason: Fate wanted to be saved. She wanted someone to rescue her from this, and she choose me to do it, she wanted me to help her, and that's why she told me about it.

I knew that my reasoning was sound, and in my heart I was sure that was correct. She wanted to be saved – she wanted me to save her – so she revealed the dark secret that she's been keeping for who knows how long.

But now I was at a loss. I figured that much out, but I had no idea what I should do about it. My heart was conflicted. I was certain that she wanted me to save her, but I also felt uneasy when I thought about betraying her trust. After all, there is no way to be sure that my conclusion was correct, I was just being conceited in thinking so.

In any case, there was absolutely nothing I could do right now. School was over, and Fate gone, going home by herself today, probably to avoid me since it was likely a little awkward. I waved her off anyway, even though she was avoiding me, because I understood her feelings.

After she was gone, I was left with my friends, Alisa, Suzuka and Natsume. I made a motion to walk, but none of them moved an inch.

"What's going on this time, Nanoha?" Alisa asked. I should have known that they would figure it out, that I wasn't being my usual self; I just never expected it to be so quick.

"Its nothing, don't worry about it." She let out an exasperated sigh.

"You're a terrible liar." At that I cracked a smile, because I couldn't deny it. I was an honest person, and I hated lies, so it was only natural that I was bad at it.

I wanted to tell her, them, about it everything, I really did. But I made a promise with Fate, and even if I might not keep it later, I didn't want to set any records for world's fastest betrayer.

"Sorry, I can't tell you, please understand." Alisa wasn't the type of person to accept that kind of reason, luckily I had Suzuka. She placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her from saying anything, whispering something in her ear, likely asking her to let it go for now. She did, and I was grateful for Suzuka's help. Natsume wasn't so easy.

She was looking at me sharply, though it would be more accurate to say that she was looking _through_ me. Natsume was a good judge of character, and she was also good at reading people, especially me. She was obviously searching for something inside my eyes, something that would give her an idea of what I was hiding.

She found it, or so it seemed, because she looked away after a few seconds, and didn't say a thing.

"Everyone," I said, getting their attention. I didn't want to walk home like this, with everyone so unsatisfied; I wouldn't tell them anything, but I wasn't going to just brush them off either. "I know you're curious, but I really can't tell you, I promised Fate-chan that I wouldn't. Please understand, this is something I have to take care of myself."

The three of them smiled at me, the tense air around us dissipated in that moment.

"Alright, we get it already." Alisa said.

"I don't like secrets, but I'll let it go, because you're such a good girl, Nanoha-chan." Natsume gave me her usual teasing.

Suzuka said nothing at all. She was my best friend, and before we met Alisa, I was hers. We understood each other well, there was no need for words between us; I knew what she wanted to say, even without her vocalizing it.

When the air had been cleared, the four of us began walking home. Eventually, we all went our separate ways, and I was once again left alone with my thoughts.

* * *

After I took a bath, I felt refreshed, and laid down on my bed, sighing contently. I stared up at the ceiling, thinking about Fate, about what I should do. I believed that she wanted me to save her, and I wanted to help her more than anything, but I didn't know how to go about doing that.

I had a few options. I could either tell someone, convince her to tell someone, it just leave it all alone and keep my promise. The chances of those last two happening were slim, so in the end, there was actually only one choice to begin with. I had to tell someone, but it didn't mean that I could tell just anyone. For example, I couldn't tell the police, because then they would go over to Fate's house, and her mom would find out that she blabbed about it. I had no doubt that Fate's mother could convince the police that there was noting going on, and when they were gone, I'm sure she would punish Fate for what I did. I didn't even have to think about it, telling the police was out for now.

If I was going to break this promise, then it had to be with someone I trusted. That wasn't to say that I didn't trust my friends, I just didn't think that they could keep it a secret, not like I should be talking. There was only two people I could trust with this kind of thing, and they were always willing to listen to my troubles. It had to be them, my parents.

Right now I was still naked, but had a towel on me, so I changed first before doing anything else. Then I went downstairs, where I found the two of them sitting in the kitchen, dad reading the newspaper, and mom cooking.

"Mom, dad." I called out to them as I entered. They both looked at me at the same time.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Mom stopped what she was doing, giving me a warm, motherly smile.

I fidgeted, unable to say anything. I hadn't realized that it would be so hard to break my promise with Fate. But I knew I had to do it, though I blushed heavily as I did.

"I have something to talk to you about, is it alright?"

"Of course, come here." I sat down at the table, where dad ceased what he was doing, and mom sat beside me. "So, what's this about? It isn't a boy, is it?" My father choked, slamming his hand on the table, exclaiming that it was far to early for me to be dating. The blush on my cheeks darkened.

"N-No, its not like that, its about a friend of mine." This really made them interested. Normally, when I talked about my friends, I referred to them by name, and not just as "a friend of mine". So while they waited patiently, I told them everything.

The first meeting with Fate, the beginning of our friendship, and the abuse, I told them about it all. They made several faces as they listened, from amusement, to horror.

"I don't know what to do, what do you think?" They both looked at me, analyzed what I had to say, mulling over it carefully. Afterward they gave me a response.

"You did the right thing coming to us, this isn't the kind of secret a young girl should be forced to bare." Dad sounded kind of cool when he said that, like he was an ally of justice or something. Mom on the other hand was a little more helpful.

"Nanoha-dear, you should do whatever you feel is right. I'm sure you don't want us to say anything, is that right?" I nodded, and she confirmed that with a nod of her own. "Okay, then its up to you. You can either convince Fate-chan to seek help for herself, or you can tell someone else and hope for the best, this is your decision, the one that she left to you, do you understand?" Again I nodded. I had already come to this conclusion a long time ago; I knew I would have to do one of those two things, but it was comforting to have a mature second opinion.

"I understand. Thank you mom, dad." They smiled warmly again. I left the kitchen, and now I was right back where I started.

_

* * *

Why did I tell her? Why did I tell her? Why did I tell her!_ Fate thought as she trembled violently on her bed. _ I should have just kept it a secret, I'm so stupid, now its all over!_ She threw herself under the blankets, as if hiding.

Fate was in a state of panic right now. Having revealed what went on in her home, she couldn't keep her fear under control. She was scared, so scared; she liked Nanoha, she was glad to have her as a friend, so she didn't want things to end so quickly, not when they just started. _She probably hates me now, why should she like someone like me? I'm stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! _

Fate was as insecure as a young girl could get. She firmly believed that Nanoha wouldn't like her, because she was damaged, and broken, and had too many problems. She believed that there wasn't a person in the world who would want to be friends with someone who is carrying so much baggage, Nanoha included. _Why? Why? Why...? _She started crying, unable to stop the tears from flowing.

She didn't want to be hated, not by Nanoha. Even though it had only been a few weeks, the friendship they had formed was already a special thing for Fate. Truth be told, if she had to put it into words, the very existence of Nanoha was important to her, she was irreplaceable, and already filled up her heart.

Fate was even more distressed about that, as she couldn't understand how this happened. _I'm so weird, what's wrong with me? Stupid stupid! Of course she hates me, there's no way she could like a weird girl like me._

Consumed by self-loathing, swallowed by despair and confusion, Fate continued to cry, until she fell asleep.

* * *

Fate and I had an awkward moment when we got together the next morning. I recalled the embrace I gave her, and I'm sure she recalled the fact that she told me about being abused. It was hard to get a conversation going, because I didn't know what I should say to her right now.

I noticed that she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt again, the bruises on her arm probably hadn't healed yet. She saw me looking, and her face flushed. "Please don't stare like that..."

"S-Sorry..." That was the extent of our talk. My friends came soon, interrupting us.

Natsume split before class started. The remaining four of us were walking into our classroom when Fate grabbed the sleeve of my shirt. I stopped, turning my head and looking at her.

"..." She wanted to say something, I could tell, but it looked like the words wouldn't come out. However, from this, I could figure out that it was something that we couldn't talk about here.

"Fate-chan." She jumped, but I disregarded it. "Lets go to _that _spot at lunch, we can talk there." She nodded and let go of me. Suzuka and Alisa called to us, telling us to hurry. I ushered Fate in, and the two of us joined them and took our respective seats.

* * *

Once again at lunch, I asked my friends to go on without me. I neglected them again, but I didn't have time to think about that, and met Fate at that secluded spot. She was sitting, and had already started eating by the time I arrived. "Hey." I said and sat down beside her, opening my bento.

We were getting absolutely nowhere again. The silence was crushing me, I hated it so much.

"Fate-chan, about what you told me yesterday." She flinched instinctively. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep my promise, I told my parents about it." Her eyes surged with panic. She probably wanted to yell at me, her lips were trembling, but she held them shut. "Don't worry, they wont say anything, I just wanted their advice." I held her hand gently, interlacing our fingers. She seemed to have calmed down a little, but was still cautious. "Fate-chan, tell me... What should I do? What can I do for you? How can I help you? That's why you told me, isn't it? You wanted me to help you, right?" I felt my pulse quicken, and said the rest of what I wanted to say. "Fate-chan, I care about you, I don't want to see you hurting. Let me help you, we can do it together, you don't have to go through this alone. So please, tell me what I can do."

Fate seemed to be on the brink of tears, I was too. Her hand shook as I held it, she quivered, looking sad again.

"Nanoha..." She called my name, softly, whispering it. There was so much emotion in her eyes, so many things filling those beautiful orbs, I couldn't even fathom it all. I had no idea what was going through her head at this moment, what she was thinking. Right now I was offering my hand to her, I wanted to save her, so all she had to do was take my hand.

Her lips continued to shake, until they finally opened. She said two words, two simple words, which said everything.

"Help... me..."

Hearing those words was all I needed. And without holding back, I swept her into my arms for the third time as she cried once more.


	9. Chapter 9

**Lyrical Girls **

**IX**

Principal Lindy Harlaown was a strange woman, at least I thought so. She had odd green hair, stretching all the way down her back, and tied into a ponytail. She also had a habit of drinking tea in her office, as well as teasing her students. Despite her weirdness, she was a very kind woman, or so that was my first impression of her.

After Fate asked me for help, I took the next logical step: I brought her to the principal and waited with her while Ms. Harlaown finished with some business. We were quiet, neither of us daring to say anything until we met the principal. I held her hand, because I could tell that she was scared, so I supported her with my entire heart.

Ms. Harlaown called us into her office soon, and we each took a seat beside each other, still holding hands. She calmly drank some tea while waiting for us to state our business. Fate didn't seem to want to begin, so I squeezed her hand.

"Ms. Harlaown," I cleared my throat, indicating my friend. "Fate-chan and I have a problem, but we're not sure what to do about it."

"I see." She took another sip of tea, and placed her cup down.

I urged Fate to say something, but she wouldn't respond to my touch. She looked at me, her eyes saying that she wanted to do it, but I could also see that she didn't want to be the one to make the first move.

Even though it wasn't my place, I did as she wanted me to. "Fate-chan is having some "problems" at home." Ms. Harlaown raised a brow, folding her hands together.

"I assume its rather serious since you came to me." I nodded.

"Her mother is... hitting her." Fate flinched, and I knew that I probably could have worded it a little better, but the end result was the same regardless.

"That's a very serious accusation, I imagine you have proof as well." I nodded again, and reached for Fate's sleeve, she didn't resist, and let me pull it up. I showed Ms. Harlaown the bruises, all of the dark spots that ran up her arm. "Oh my." That was her first reaction to it. I felt my friend's fingers shaking, so I squeezed her hand harder, to let her know that it was alright.

"We came here because we don't know what to do about it." She drank some more tea.

"You made the right decision. So, let me ask you something, what is it you want me to do?" She wasn't asking me, but Fate herself.

"I..." She made a small noise that sounded like a word, but ultimately kept her mouth shut.

"Testarossa-san, this is important, so I want to hear it from you. What does your mother do to you? What do you want me to do about it? If you be honest, I can give you some options, but nothing will change if you just remain silent."

Fate looked to me for guidance, but I didn't say anything, because this was something she had to decide for herself. I could only be here with her, hold her hand, but I couldn't do this for her. Once she understood this, she shrunk, and gathered herself, seemingly to obtain courage.

"..." She looked pained, she was probably recalling all the terrible things she's been through, the look on her face was heartbreaking. All throughout this silence, Ms. Harlaown kept her cool, waiting patiently, even as the bell rang and afternoon classes started.

"... I... mother..." She looked at me again, her eyes reflecting sadness. I did my best to transmit to her that it was alright, that I was with her. I gave her hand another squeeze, and smiled at her. She gave me back a tiny smile, and faced Ms. Harlaown again. "When mother is angry, she... hits me..."

The green haired woman nodded, that was all she needed to hear. "Good, I'm glad you told me. So, what do you want me to do now? You have really only a few options: We can contact the authorities and child services, they will take you take you into custody until this is all sorted out." Fate started to freak out a little, I could tell because she was sweating a lot.

"I... I don't want mother to get in trouble..." I could sympathize with her. Fate loved her mother, despite the cruel things she did, it was almost kind of heartwarming. But it also made me a little angry.

"Testarossa-san," Ms. Harlaown said sternly. "I know how you feel, but if you don't stand up for yourself, nothing will happen. If you want my help, I'll be happy to give it to you; but you don't say anything, I wont know what to do."

I felt like I was in the way of this, like I had no reason for being here at this point. Since I was feeling lonely, I decided to help.

"Fate-chan," She looked at me, pleading with her eyes for me not to let her do this. "Fate-chan, you can do it, I'll be with you no matter what." Her cheeks became red, flushing from embarrassment.

"Nanoha..." I don't know why, but she seemed really moved, as if she couldn't believe the words that I said.

Ms. Harlaown smiled sweetly at us, drinking more of her tea, even though it was probably getting cold. "Seems like you have a really good friend, Testarossa-san." Her cheeks only became darker, and she nodded. "So, do you think you can make a decision now?"

"Yes..." Fate said quietly. "I... don't want to be hurt anymore, but..." This time she squeezed my hand. "I want to help mother too, because she's in pain, because of me. I don't want her to hurt either..." Ms. Harlaown nodded, her gaze becoming sharp and serious.

"Very well, Testarossa-san. I'm going to have to ask you to remain here, I'll get in touch with Child Protective Services to see what we can do about this." Fate's eyes widened, but she was quiet and nodded. The principal then looked at me. "I know its late, but can I ask you to go to class while we sort this out, Takamachi-san."

"Eh?" I jumped from my seat, "Why can't I stay here with Fate-chan?" Ms. Harlaown's gaze pierced through me, I sat back down before she said anything.

"This is a very personal matter. You're her friend, and I understand your feelings, but to be blunt, this doesn't concern you enough for your presence to be required." I was stunned, but couldn't fight back, because I knew she was right. I was just Fate's friend, and nothing else, I had no right to interfere in her private affairs more than I'd already done. Still, it was painful to hear it like that from this woman.

Fate was looking sadly at me again, and there was nothing I could do. "Sorry Fate-chan, I guess I'll have to go now. But..." I held my finger against her chest, her heart. "I'll be right here, so you aren't alone, I'll be right there with you."

She nodded shyly, her cheeks in a full out blush. "Thank you..." She told me with a breath, a whisper, but I heard it clearly.

"Thank you for understanding, Takamachi-san. Now, if you'll excuse us..." She went over to Fate, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder, I nodded at her, and let go of my friend's hand.

"Good luck, Fate-chan." I said to her, and left the room. I was given a slip of paper from the principal's assistant, and was then sent back to class...

Precia Testarossa was on a smoking break when one of her fellow employees found her outside, a cigarette still stuck between her lips. "What is it?" She said coldly, nearly making the man who approached retreat.

"T-The boss wants you in his office, seems urgent." She nodded, extinguishing the stick by throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. Without a word of thanks, she went back into the building.

Her boss reported to her that they received a call from Child Protective Services, requesting her presence at her daughter's school. This made Precia's lips curl with anger, as she could guess what was going on. _That damned girl!_

She was excused from work, where she marched out of the building. She went to her car and went on her way to the school, prepared to teach her daughter a lesson.

Fate left Lindy's office, going for a bathroom break. CPS had been informed of her allegations, and would be arriving in about a half hour if all went well. Her mom was also contacted, and would probably be there soon since the office where she worked was really close by. The plan was to get everyone together to see if they could confirm the accusations Fate was making, which involved a lengthy confrontation, one she wasn't looking forward to.

_I wish Nanoha was here._ She thought as she walked down the hall, longing for the presence of her friend. She still thought it was weird, the way she thought about Nanoha, but it didn't bother her as much now that she knew the girl wouldn't abandon her. _Thank you Nanoha._ She found the bathroom and entered it quietly.

After doing her business, she was back into the hall, on her way to Lindy's office once more. However, a voice stopped her, a chilling call that she couldn't mistake for anything else.

"Fate." She heard her name being called, and when she turned around – though not wanting to – she found her mother glaring at her.

"M-Mother!" Fate immediately recoiled, scared out of her mind.

Precia had gotten there much faster than she expected, it even looked like she ran some of the way, since she was sweating quite a bit.

Her mother's glare was intense, and kept her in place as the women approached. "You have some nerve, telling other people about us."

"I-I'm sorry..." She wanted to take a step back, but couldn't. As it also happened, this was one of the few hallways in the school that didn't have a camera watching, there was also no one around to interfere. A completely isolated spot, which Fate finally noticed was the same one where she and Nanoha ate lunch.

Precia was in her face now, looking down at her with fury that she'd never seen before. "P-Please forgive me, I'm sorry!" The woman shook her head, grabbing her arm.

"No, you aren't, not yet. Don't worry, you will be soon enough, now come!" Without any protest, Fate was dragged away, through the hall, and soon out of the school, likely on the way home, where a hellish punishment would await her.

"_Nanoha Takamachi, please report to the principal's office." _I heard my name being called over the P.A system, but I had no idea why. _"I repeat..."_ The teacher looked at me, so did my friends, and everyone else in the class. I ignored their stares, got to my feet and left the class.

When I was in the hall, an overwhelming feeling of dread started to fill my heart, and I soon understood why. I was on my way to the principal's office, which could only mean one thing. "Fate-chan..." I ran, even though it wasn't allowed, I ran as fast as I could toward that office.

When I got there, Ms. Harlaown was waiting outside, along with some well dressed people, and a few police officers.

The principal greeted me when I approached. My mind was in a frenzy, and I had no idea what to expect. I only had one thing to say when I reached her. "Is Fate-chan okay!" She looked at me grimly, almost regretfully as well.

"Takamachi-san, I had a bit of bad news, and I'd like your help as well."

"What is it? I'll do anything!" She gripped both my shoulders, keeping our eyes level.

"It appears that Precia Testarossa, Fate's mother, arrived here a lot faster than we expected. She seems to have abducted Fate, and is holding her in their home." The shock of hearing this was almost too much, and my knees nearly buckled. "Takamachi-san." She told me, keeping me steady. "Even though I shouldn't be asking this of you, and you must be busy with your studies, I must ask you to come with me. I'm going to need your help, to save Fate."

I should have thought a little more about it than I did. However, all I could think of was Fate being hurt again, and that was everything I needed to motivate me. So without the slightest bit of hesitation, I nodded my head, and joined her as we came up with a plan to save my precious friend.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I don't know why, but I can't use the horizontal ruler on chapter 9, so sorry about that, just read carefully. Anyway, this chapter marks the end of the first story, and I hope it was a satisfying end for all, I certainly thought it was. Of course there are still some questions left unanswered. What is Fate's sin? Who is Natsume's love interest? All those questions will be answered in the next story, the first chapter of which is already completed. Anyway, I'm happy that everyone read this story to the end, I hope you continue to do so. Thank you, enjoy. _

_- Kode-Dekka  
_

* * *

Why did everything end up like this?

Even though I worked so hard, even though I was hurt so much.

Why has it come to this?

I want to see you.

I want you to hold my hand like you did before.

I want you to embrace me, just like all those other times.

I want you to save me...

Please... help me... Nanoha...

* * *

**Lyrical Girls**

**Final Chapter**

Everything had gotten completely messed up, and I had no idea how to process it all. Even so, I stood here, in front of Fate's home, surrounded by people, including police and news reporters.

Ms. Harlaown explained it to me as best she could. After I went back to class, around that time Child Protective Services were called, and asked to come down to the school for a meeting regarding Fate. Her mother, Precia Testarossa was also called, but arrived first, and used that time to take the girl away. That's how we found ourselves outside of this house, in the middle of a hostage situation.

But, there were several problems that kept police from just entering. One was the fact that Fate had confessed to being abused once before, when it first started happening. However, upon investigation, she took everything back, and said that she lied, likely because her mother was pressuring her.

Because of that incident, Fate hadn't been taken seriously this time, but CPS came to investigate anyway at Ms. Harlaown's insistence. However, just like before, even under these circumstances, Precia took her away, and now Fate is telling them that it was a lie, a big misunderstanding.

Even then, that doesn't discount the possibility that she's being made to say that. The police, the social servants, and even me, were all here to get the truth.

Ms. Harlaown is an amazing woman. She has connections all over the city, so even though everyone wanted to go home, she found away to get them here, at Fate's doorsteps for one final confrontation. The CPS workers are going to go in there, they'll have a talk with Precia and Fate. If any of them admits to the abuse, then the police are waiting on standby to arrest her.

The reason I was here, was to convince Fate to speak up. I was her friend, her only friend, so it was my job to break through to her. I couldn't go in, but Ms. Harlaown said she had a secret weapon in case things didn't go well, a way for my voice and feelings to reach her heart. I don't know what it was, but I was ready to do what I had to, I would do anything for Fate; because even though we didn't know each other for a long time, she was already an important person to me, an irreplaceable friend. No matter what, I was going to save her.

* * *

Fate felt her mother's fingers dig into her shoulders, her nails piercing her skin. She wanted to cry out in pain, but said nothing. Any second, some government workers would come in there, and ask her for the truth. This would be the second time, and probably the last time. If she didn't tell the truth now, she knew that she wouldn't get another chance to be saved.

But she also knew that she would lie again, because she had no other choice. Even if she told the the truth, her mother wouldn't be gone forever; when that time came, she would likely receive even worse punishments than before. But if she lied again, her mother promised to forgive her.

Fate was ashamed of herself. She knew that she was going to give into her mother's pressure again, and lie. She was going to resign to her fate, the one that had been laid out for her since she killed her father and sister. The reason she felt bad, it was all because of Nanoha. If she lied, she was betraying her, making everything the girl did for her all for nothing. Her kind words, her gentles touch, her friendship, Fate was going to betray all of that, and stain those happy memories black with dishonesty.

They finally came, two of them wearing fancy business suits. A man and a women both entered her home with a greeting from her mother. She apologized for doing all of these sudden things, and for causing such a commotion. Putting on the mask of a kind mother, one that used to be her real self, Precia lied to both their faces without a second thought or a bit of hesitation.

They all sat down, and before things began, the two workers looked at Fate, saying that had a message, from Nanoha, whom they also said was outside. She couldn't believe it, and thought that her ears were playing tricks on her. _Nanoha... she's here?_ It didn't make any sense to her, who thought that their friendship was long over because of her cowardice.

The woman cleared her throat, taking out a piece of paper and reading it. "Fate-chan, don't be afraid, I'll be with you, no matter what happens. I believe in you, Fate-chan..." The woman seemed to smile as she read it, which made Fate smile too, until she saw the look in her mother's eyes. She was clearly angry, however was good at hiding her disdain by smiling.

"How sweet, you have such a nice friend, Fate." Precia said to her, warning her with a piercing glare not to say a word. She remained silent, and only nodded.

After that, the adults got down to business. They discussed everything, including the incident in the past, where Fate took back the statements she made. Precia laughed everything off, saying that Fate was still having a rough time dealing with the death of her father and sister, and that she's only looking for attention. The violet haired woman promised the two that she would try her best to take better care, and come home more to "soothe her loneliness" as she put it. The man ate it all up, but the woman wasn't so convinced, and had been looking at Fate the entire time.

Fate didn't say a single word, and just nodded when she needed to. She was still thinking about Nanoha, that made it hard for her to concentrate. She was worried that she might slip up if she said anything. Occasionally she looked outside, through the window, where she saw her friend looking at her. At those times her guilt became almost unbearable, but she managed, because she didn't have a choice, this was her fate, her punishment, her retribution for the sin she committed. That's how she felt. No matter how bad the abuse was, she deserved it, because her sin killed the two people she loved most in the world.

That was how she felt, until she met Nanoha. Even though Fate didn't feel that she deserved it, she received friendship and unconditional kindness from that girl. Nanoha, who shared her tears. Nanoha, who held her so gently. Those things changed Fate, and now she was conflicted. She still thought she deserved all these horrible things, but still, she wanted to be saved. Because she met Nanoha, and was shown kindness for the first time in 10 years, she didn't want to let go of that feeling. Her heart was in turmoil, and both sides were tearing her apart. That's probably why she didn't hear the woman speaking to her.

"Huh?" Fate snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the woman who had been addressing her for a few seconds.

"I asked if you were alright, you looked a little distressed." Her eyes opened with shock, and immediately looked to her mother, who was growing more furious. But still, Precia managed to turn it around.

"She must be feeling a little guilty about causing so much trouble, isn't that right Fate?" Fate nodded, not saying anything. The woman sitting across from them found this strange. Not once, no matter what was asked of her, did Fate say a word. The woman was convinced that something wasn't right. However, she knew that her intuition wasn't enough, that Fate would have to say something herself if anything was to happen. Otherwise, they'd have no choice but to drop the whole thing. That's why she asked a very basic question.

"Testarossa-chan," She said "I'd like you to tell us something. Has your mother ever hit you?" Precia made a motion to answer for Fate, but the woman stopped that right away. "I'm sorry, but I'd like her to answer the question." The mask on the mother was cracking, and the woman knew it, because even she could see how furious her gaze was. "Now, tell us, when she's angry, or even when she isn't, has your mother hit you?"

Fate felt cornered now. She had only two options, lie, or tell the truth. If she lied, she would be forgiven, but things would stay the same. If she told the truth, she could be free, but would still be fearful of her mother's wrath. She wanted to repent for her sin, but she wanted to be saved. Forgiveness, salvation, she had no idea which one to choose. She tried listening to her heart, but all she could hear was Nanoha's voice, and that only confused her more.

She felt the dark presence of her mothers anger, she felt her deadly eyes fixed on her. Unable to stand against that fear, she did what she had to do. _I'm sorry, Nanoha..._

"No, mother never hit me..." She could almost feel the victory smile of Precia, who reaffirmed this, and asked if the matter was settled now. The man and woman looked at each other, the man was satisfied, but the woman not so much. However, her hands were tied, there was nothing she could do.

"Yes, were done here. Sorry for taking up your time, Miss Testarossa." The two of them stood up, where the woman gave Fate one last look, before turning her gaze outside sadly.

It was all over now, and as they reached the door, Precia gripped Fate's shoulders in what seemed like a loving manner, but Fate could feel different. _Its all over now... sorry Nanoha..._ She apologized, saying sorry to Nanoha in her heart.

But then, out of nowhere, the silence around the house was shattered by a loud voice.

"Fate-chan!"

* * *

I saw it all go down, and then I saw it all end. Nothing was going to happen, I could tell that Fate gave into her mother rather than tell the truth. It was all over now, nothing had changed. "Damn it." I said, which was kind of out of character for me, especially since I was with the principal of the school.

"Don't worry, its not over yet, we still have our trump card." Before I could say otherwise, she called a man over, and he brought something, which was then handed to me. A megaphone. "Here, you're our last chance, Takamachi-san."

"But I-" She cut me off, and smiled.

"You can do it, she's your friend, isn't she? Are you just going to let it end like this?" I saw in her eyes that she trusted me, and that gave me the will to speak.

"Okay!" I took the megaphone, gazed straight at Fate, and yelled as loudly as I could. "Fate-chan!" My voice reached her, and she turned her head toward me, she was completely astonished. I didn't have anything that I wanted to say in particular, so I just told her how I felt. "Fate-chan, don't give up yet. Tell the truth, show them what your mother does to you. I know you're sacred, but you have to, or nothing will change. You're my precious friend, so if you need courage, then take mine, take all of it if that's what you need. I haven't given up on you yet, I'll be with you no matter what happens. That's why, please, don't let it end like this, Fate-chan!"

I gave her all my feelings, and sent them to her heart. I wanted them to reach, I prayed that they would reach. All she had to do was one little thing, and then it would all end.

It was a long standoff, as the two of us just looked at each other, separated by distance and glass. But, finally, the light in her eyes showed brightly, and she smiled, nodding at me. Then, she started to reach for her sleeve.

Fate had listened to all of Nanoha's words, taking them to heart, receiving all her feelings. The grip of her mother increased on her, and even as the social workers looked at her expectantly, she didn't make a move right away.

_Nanoha..._ She blinked, thinking deeply. _Nanoha..._ The part of her that believed that she deserved punishment, it was starting to shrink and quiet down. _Nanoha... _As each second passed, she felt Nanoha's gaze becoming more intense. _Nanoha..._ Even as her mother crushed her shoulders, she felt like she was becoming braver, as if Nanoha really transmitted all her courage to Fate. _Nanoha... I..._ She didn't want to be hurt anymore, she didn't want to cry anymore. She just wanted a gentle, loving mother, like the one Precia used to be. Right now, she wanted it all to end.

However... _Nanoha! _She didn't want it to end like this. If things didn't change, then she wouldn't be able to stay Nanoha's friend, the guilt of betraying her would be too much, and she would once again become locked in a never ending cycle of unhappiness. Their story had only just begun, she didn't want it to end yet, not like this. _Nanoha... I... I...!_

"Help me..." Fate whispered. She felt Precia's grip become even tighter as the social workers asked her to repeat what she said. She could do this now, holding Nanoha's feelings, her courage in her heart, she didn't need to be afraid anymore. Fate, still looking at Nanoha, smiled and nodded, which said that her feelings had reached. "Help me!" Without hesitating anymore, she reached for her arm, her sleeve, and pulled it up, revealing all the dark marks on her.

"You bastard, how dare you betray me!" It all happened so quickly. Precia reaching her arm up, getting ready to slap Fate, the female social worker, making a dash for them. The police outside making their move when they saw what was happening.

Precia was able to land a hit on Fate, smacking her on the face, before she was taken down by the woman. The man came over to Fate, helping her and making sure that she was alright. The police came in soon after, helping the woman to restrain Precia.

She was read her rights, and then led outside, and into a police cruiser. The woman went up to Fate, made sure that she wasn't hurt to badly, and then escorted her outside, all the while listening to Precia's angry cries.

I saw Fate coming out of the house, and couldn't keep myself from rushing forward. Without wasting a single second, I embraced her again, calling her name. I had been so worried about her, especially when I saw the scuffle inside. She respond to me by returning my hug, and also crying, thanking me in between her sobs.

It was finally over, this long suffering for my friend was over at last.

* * *

The whole thing was all over the news, including my speech to Fate. It was kind of embarrassing when I watched myself getting so passionate, Natsume and Alisa made sure to tease me a lot for it. My parents also teased me, but also congratulated me for "saving the day", even though I didn't do anything.

I had become even more famous at school, which was a problem for Fate, since the spotlight was on her as well. I didn't mind that much, I knew it would all blow over eventually, but it was still awful.

As for Fate herself, her mother was currently being charged with domestic violence, and Fate was going to have to appear in court to testify. I knew it was going to be hard for her, but I assured her that I would be there every step of the way. I don't how long Precia would be put away, but even when she got released, I would protect Fate, no matter what, that was the promise I made to her.

There was some good news in all this. Because of the impending events, Fate would be relatively homeless, so Ms. Harlaown made arrangements to become her legal guardian for the time being. When Precia was released, whenever that was, if she hadn't changed her ways by then, the principal was even going to try and obtain complete custody, and adopt her.

All in all, despite the painful things, we had earned a happy ending. I don't know how long things were going to stay like this, but I hoped that this new found happiness with Fate would last forever. Either way, no matter what happened, I, Nanoha Takamachi, would always be right there with her.

_To Be Continued in Lyrical Girls A's..._


End file.
